Penn State hockey swept away in Big Ten home opener

Despite getting swept at Minnesota two weeks ago, there was reason to be optimistic about Penn State hockey. Minnesota is a true title contender, and you can argue that the Nittany Lions (4-5-0, 0-4-0 B1G) was the better team in both games despite two heartbreaking losses.

A bye week and a struggling Wisconsin team coming to Pegula Ice Arena seemed to arrive at just the right time. The Badgers (4-8-0, 3-5-0 B1G) came into the series with just two wins, but that was a bit of a mirage. Wisconsin has played one of the toughest schedules in the sport and suffered from some pretty awful luck. Still, last weekend was a chance for Penn State to pounce on a squad down on its luck and pick up two massive conference wins at home.

However, Guy Gadowsky and the Nittany Lions couldn’t get the job done, falling to the Badgers on consecutive nights at Pegula. 

Penn State rally falls short in overtime

Sluggish start costs Lions

Pegula was electric for the Big Ten home opener, but it would be short-lived. A defensive breakdown by Penn State allowed for a Wisconsin deflection goal just over three minutes into the game. 

That gave the struggling Badgers plenty of life as they continued to dominate the opening frame. Wisconsin had a few opportunities to extend its lead, but Nittany Lions goaltender Arsenii Sergeev kept the deficit at one.

But then on a late-period power play, Aiden Fink sniped a shot from the faceoff dot over the Wisconsin’s goaltender to knot up the game at one. 

Wisconsin opens things up

Penn State hockey played much better in the second period, a noticeable trend through the early season. The Nittany Lions carried much of the play through the early part of the frame but came away with nothing to show for it.

In the second half of the period, Wisconsin was able to give itself breathing room. A rebound led to an easy shot to reclaim a one-goal lead. About three minutes after that, Wisconsin added another goal to make the score 3-1 heading into the intermission.

Resilient Lions mount a comeback

If Penn State wanted to get back into the game, it would need a quick goal in the third period. That is precisely what the Nittany Lions got. A pair of freshman forwards, JJ Wiebusch and Charlie Cerrato, combined for a goal less than two minutes into the period. Wiebusch hit a nice cross-ice pass that was redirected in by Cerrato. 

Ben Schoen later forced a turnover on a forecheck, capitalizing on the opportunity to tie the game at three just six minutes into the period. 

The Badgers had an answer, however. Just over halfway through the frame, despite Penn State dominating much of the period, Wisconsin scored an odd-man rush to reclaim the lead. 

Penn State hockey pulled its goalie with two minutes left and was awarded a power play on a Wisconsin holding call near the one-minute mark. This gave the Nittany Lions a golden opportunity for a late, dramatic tying goal, which is exactly what they got. 

A redirection by forward Danny Dzhaniyev off a point shot by Simon Mack was enough to put the puck in the net and send the Pegula crowd into a frenzy and the game to overtime. 

Heartbreak in OT

A back-and-forth overtime saw many great chances and saves. It seemed as if the game was destined for a tie and ensuing shootout, however a great individual effort took Wisconsin forward Daniel Laatsch coast-to-coast, beating Sergeev’s outstretched pad and ending the game. 

Penn State hockey earned a single point out of a possible three in the Big Ten standings, its first point of the season. However, the game counts as a loss from a national perspective, including the all-important Pairwise Rankings. 

Bad start dooms Nittany Lions

Another slow start begets a Bader barrage

If Penn State hockey started slow on Friday, then Saturday’s start was sloth-like. This was a critically important contest for the Nittany Lions, looking to keep their record above .500, earn valuable Big Ten points, and help their Pairwise Ranking. But it didn’t look like Penn State was remotely ready for the task.

Just 40 seconds into the game, Arsenii Sergeev got caught out of position after playing a puck behind the net, resulting in an easy Wisconsin score. Less than two minutes later, as the Badgers tacked on another, silence befell the capacity crowd at Pegula.

After that goal, Sergeev left the game with an apparent injury. Junior Noah Grannan filled in relief duty, marking his first action of the season.

Things didn’t get much better. The Badgers added two more goals before the end of the frame, heading to the locker room with a 4-0 lead.

Lions start slow climb back

Penn State hockey wasn’t going to roll over, however. Just 48 seconds into the middle period, defenseman Jared Crespo scored on a three-on-one rush to give the Nittany Lions some life. 

Penn State played a much better second period, dominating the Badgers for large stretches. The Nittany Lions put home another goal late in the period when Charlie Cerrato knocked in a rebound to cut the deficit to two goals.

Another Penn State comeback bid falls short

Penn State found itself in the same spot as Friday night, entering the third period: down two scores. Less than halfway through the period, Cerrato was able to send a jaw-dropping backhand pass to forward Aiden Fink, who finished the play and cut the deficit down to a goal.

It looked like the Nittany Lions were going to do it again until a boarding penalty on Matt DiMarsico was ruled a major penalty. That gave Wisconsin five minutes of power play time and made the Nittany Lions task exponentially tougher.

Wisconsin would add two goals on the man advantage to walk away with a 6-3 win.

Penn State hockey facing must-win weekend

Penn State hockey is now under .500 for the first time all year, sitting at 4-5-0. The Nittany Lions are still searching for their first conference win after failing in their first four attempts. Slow starts have been a theme all year, and they are really starting to plague this team. If the Nittany Lions played all the time with the same urgency they did while trailing late, they would have won both games this weekend—and probably by a good margin. 

Michigan comes to town next weekend in what has become must-win games for this young squad. Another sweep would make the Nittany Lions’ climb to both Big Ten contention and an NCAA Tournament berth nearly insurmountable. 

The Wolverines and the Nittany Lions will face off this Friday and Saturday at Pegula Ice Arena. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 p.m. on Friday and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Thank you for reading Basic Blues Nation, one of the fastest-growing outlets covering Penn State athletics. Part of the Full Ride network, we are an alumni-owned, community-operated, credentialed media outlet dedicated to providing you with updated and reliable insights for all your favorite Nittany Lion sports. Whether it’s Penn State football, basketball, wrestling, or anything in between, you can find it all on Basic Blues Nation!

Please follow us on our social channels, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube, and subscribe to our newsletter on Substack for breaking news and notifications. For feedback, questions, or concerns, please email us at [email protected] or direct message us on social media.